Becoming a great team is a pursuit that’s worthy of your time. Even with our best intentions, it can be easy to get swept up in common misconceptions of what being a great team looks like. Despite popular belief, being a great team isn’t about frolicking through the fields arm in arm, effortlessly kicking goals and saying ‘Heck yes!’ to every request, no questions asked.
In fact, being a great team has more to do with tough conversations and a commitment to asking great questions than most of us realise. It requires us to get honest, dig deep, and make a commitment to showing up as the team we need to be every single day.
But what goes into becoming a great team, specifically? Find out in this practical, tried and tested article.
Step One: Discuss and Reflect on the Past
Great teams aren’t afraid of honest, down-to-earth reflection. While talking about the past can bring up feelings of resentment, groans about troubling times and memories of uncomfortable situations, this is the tough stuff that great teams don’t shy away from.
This commitment to reflection is a foundation of great teams. It’s the stuff that allows them to move forward at a rapid rate, without getting bogged down in ‘what we’ve always done’. Avoiding groupthink and limiting beliefs comes from addressing the past and openly discussing what we could do differently in the future.
Step Two: Pursue Peak Performance
In order for a great team to reach peak performance, there’s a few things they’ve got to get prepared in advance. This includes things like performance expectations (what does high performance look like?), gathering the equipment (what do we need to achieve this?) and being mindful of the barriers and blocks that could show up (what mindset do we need to adopt?).
All in all, great teams are able to rise to the top because they see high performance as the standard. This doesn’t mean that they push everyone to work hard relentlessly. Instead, high performing teams are able to embrace production sprints and support them with intentional recovery breaks. Great teams don’t wait for the weekend to relax, they incorporate relaxation into their workday to ensure they stay on top for the long haul.
Step Three: Keep a Focus on the Future
Great teams are always keeping their gaze on the horizon. They know where they are heading, they’ve got a clear path for the way forward, and they know what they are going to see when they reach that dream destination.
With this focus on the future, great teams are able to work efficiently to achieve their goals and more importantly, are able to foresee any barriers that may hold them back before they become an urgent issue.
If you’re thinking to yourself “Heck, that’s a tall order. How do I even achieve this with my team?”, well, we’ve got something just for you.
Take a look at something we prepared earlier…
